Path Of Blood
by FredTheAlmighty
Summary: aww. i was hoping this was going to be more successful. i guess elder scrolls fics aren't like mass effect in terms of views. or maybe i just suck. either way, lesson learned. discontinued.
1. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 - Riften

-edited to take out a few mistakes, didn't proofread when i uploaded it.

"Hand over your stolen items. Don't act like you don't have any, sneak thief," the guard pointed to the table.

"Right. Here's all of them," she laid down a few gems on the table. Two rubies, a sapphire, and a flawless diamond.

"That's not all of it, empty your pockets, or I'll do it for you," he said with a glare.

"Fine, fine, keep your hands off of me, this is all of it, I swear," she said putting a sack of coin onto the table.

"Smart women. Now get out of my sight, scum. Don't let me catch you with your hands in anyone else's pockets, or I'll haul you off to jail," the guard finished. He picked up the items and walked towards a chest. Another guard came and pointed to the exit up the stairs.

"Let's go, thieving scum," he called.

She began walking up the stairs and he followed. She turned around.

"I can walked myself out," she said, waving the guard off with her hand.

"No, I'm escorting you out. Now walk," he said, pushing her towards the door.

"Don't touch me," she said, narrowing her eyebrows.

"I'll do what I want, scum," he pushed her again. She leaned into the push and fell into another guard, snatching his key in the process, then fell to her hands and knees. The guard who pushed her grabbed her and pulled her up, facing towards the door.

"Go!" he yelled. She scurried to the door, brushing past a red headed nord on her way out.

XXX

She walked out with a smile, swinging the key on her finger. She had pulled the same trick in Solitude a few months back. Snatch a key and wait a few days to steal her items back from the chest.

She walked down the steps, returning the key to her pocket. She walked towards the market, eyes scanning the people and stalls for valuables. She could unlock display cases when nobody was looking, then steal the items at night. Rings could be slipped from peoples fingers with enough practice. Other things could be taken off people, but required much more practice. Excluding pockets of course. Necklaces, with enough practice, can be removed from someones neck, but it was never worth it. The chance of getting caught was just too high.

There was a man browsing the market, in front of someones stall, the Argonians. She never paid much attention to names. The man had a satchel of gold sticking off his belt. Courtney grinned as she walked past, slipping the bag of coin off his belt and into her own pockets. She kept walked, and into the Inn.

"Greetings, Courtney. You need the room for a night?" Talon-Jei said with a nod.

She returned the gesture with a smile, "Yes, thank you," she dropped 50 gold into his hand as she passed him, then walked up the stairs.

XXX

A knock on her door made her eyes slowly open.

"You requested to be woken at 9 am. Are you awake?" It was Talon-Jei.

She groaned a yes and a thank you. She waited until she heard him walking down the stairs, then slid her legs off the bed with a yawn. She grabbed her armor and slipped into it. It was black with shoulder pads and a collar piece. It sported a red and blue trim in different areas. Also attached was a small cloak on the back.

She walked down the stairs and out the door, nodding to the folk inside the inn.

"An impressive display yesterday, lass."

She turned to the the man, she had seen him the day before. Orange haired nord, thick accent.

"Which one?"

"Aye, all of them. Stealing that woman's purse without her noticing, all the rings from peoples hands. You had my hopes up high until you got caught. I was disappointed until I saw how you dealt with it, well done," he smiled.

"Thanks. I guess I'm not as good as I thought if you saw me though."

"Nah, It's my job, lass. Speaking of which, care to earn a little coin?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Hehe, it should be easy for someone with your expertise. I need you to take Modesi's ring, from his strongbox at his stall, and plant it in Brand-Shei's pocket. Easy enough?"

"Sure, but who's Modesi and who is Brand-Shei?" she asked, looking around.

"Ah, I'd thought you would know them by now, seeing as you steal from them everyday," she grinned at that statement, "Modesi is the Argonian, and Brand-Shei is the dark elf. Now, I'll create a distraction and get everyone's attention, and you plant the ring. Ready?"

"One more question," she asked.

"Of course."

"What's your name?"

"Brynjolf, and yours?"

"Courtney."

"A fine name," he extended his hand, which she shook, "Let's get to it."

XXX

She crouched down next to the stall and pulled out a lockpick. She started to pick the lock.

"Pff. Easy," she said to herself. The lock opened with ease. She slipped her hand into the stall and opened the strongbox, taking the ring, and everything else. She closed it and locked the stall and slipped out of the area. She waited for the group to disperse and dropped the ring into Brand-Shei's pockets as he passed her, then walked back to Brynjolf.

"Well done, lass. That lock clearly gave you no trouble. Thanks for the help. Here's some coin for your time," he handed her a satchel of gold. She weighed it in her hand, it felt like roughly 100 gold.

"Of course. It's hard passing up a job like that, no?" she said, with a slight grin.

"Absolutely. So why stop now?"

"Oh?"

"Go through the Ratway in the sewers. Look for the Ragged Flagon. I'll explain there, lass," he nodded and walked off.

She looked at the sack of gold in her hand, then dumped it into her own pocket with a grin.

XXX

"Come on you...little..." She said to herself, trying to break through the locked door. It seemed to be a shortcut through the Ratway.

CRACK! Another lockpick broke.

"Fuck!" she yelled. She had already broken 7 on this one lock. She crouched down to try again.

"A bit more..."

Click.

"Yes!" she yelled. The door swung open and she ran through, and up the stairs.

"Who are you?" Someone asked, pulling out a mace.

"Hey, I'm not here to fight. Just passing through. Where is the..."

"I'll have your head!" The homeless man swung the mace at her. She sidestepped to the right and grabbed his hand, then twisted her arm around his, making him drop the mace. He readied a punch with his other hand but she stopped him by snapping the arm she grabbed, breaking the bone. He screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his crippled arm.

"You bitch! I'll make you pay!"

He got up and stumbled back, pulling a dagger from his belt with his good arm. She picked up the mace and pulled her own dagger from her sheath. He moved forward and tried to slash at her, but she blocked it with the mace, pushing it to the left. She reached out with her dagger in her other hand while he was open and stabbed him around the collarbone, then twisted around until she cut his windpipe.

The body fell down the ground, blood trickling out of the neck and his very broken arm. She returned her dagger to her belt and stepped over the corpse.

XXX

"Ah, I was wondering what that noise out there was. Did you find your way here ok?" Brynjolf asked.

"Yea. Killed a few lowlifes and picked a few locks."

"Ah, I knew I picked the right person for the job.

"That you did. Who are your friends?" She said, leaning into her hip.

"Members of my...organization. I'll introduce you to them eventually. As for now, I have a task for you. Look at this list," he held out a paper.

She took the paper from his hands and read it. It was a list of 3 people and their locations.

"Who are these people?"

"They owe us some money if you know what I mean. Get it from them anyway you can, but do not kill them. It makes us look bad."

"Yes, I see. I'll get right on it."

"Good, lass. I trust that you won't dissapoint."

XXX

"Hello! Welcome to the Pawned Prawn. How can I help you?"

She walked in with a glare on her face, looking for something of value.

"Can I...help you?"

"You owe my organization some money. I trust that you have it?"

"No. No I don't and I don't plan on giving it to you brutes."

"Oh. That's a shame. How much is this Urn of yours?"

"2000 gold. Now please...Oh gods! No don't break my urn! I'll pay!"

He ran over and handed her a satchel of gold. She weighed it in her hand.

"This feels a bit light, don't you think?"

"No. No! I swear, it's all of it! Count it!"

She walked towards the door, still weighing the gold in her hand. She turned and gave him a slight grin as she walked out. She then walked over to the Bee and the Barb.

"Ahh, Courtney, how goes it?" Keerava said with a smile.

"Good. I need to speak to you about something though," she pointed to a less populated side of the room and walked over.

"What is it, my friend?" Keerava said, still unsure of what was going on.

"Listen, I'm working for the Thieves Guild now. I know you have some debt with them, but I'm just going to pay it off."

"Really? This is good news, they've been on my back for a while now."

"Yes, I know. All I ask is to not indebt yourself to them again. I think it would make everything simpler."

"Yes, I agree. Absolutely. Thank you my friend. Is this all?"

"You can also rent out the room to other people. I'm sorry to say, but I don't think I'll be in Riften much anymore."

"Of course, Courtney. May I ask why?"

"I'm used to moving around. Never stayed in one place for too long. I'll be back to run jobs for the guild, but I think I'm going to go and find a new place to explore."

"I see. Well you will always have a place to stay here, all you need to do is ask."

"Thank you, Keerava. Goodbye."

XXX

"Ah, welcome back, Lass. I trust everything went well?"

"Of course. Haelga gave me the most trouble, but I took her statue hostage and she was pretty negotiable then," she handed over a satchel of 300 gold.

"That's what I like to hear. It's always best to do this without bloodshed, but I'm sure you already know this. Here's your coin," he handed her a satchel of gold, which she put into her bag.

"Now, let me show you what we're really about. Follow me."

They walked down a hallway, then to a cabinet. With a false back panel.

"Nice. First time I saw one of these was in Skyrim. They work well," she said, ducking her head through.

"That they do," he paused for a bit while they walked, "So tell me lass, what's your story?"

She chuckled, "Don't have one yet. I'm working on it. I grew up...outside of Skyrim. Eventually found my way to Falkreath from Cyrodiil. Wandered between cities around Skyrim, then found my way to Riften. Been here for a few weeks."

"Just a few weeks? Gods, how old are you?"

"I...don't know. Never really paid attention to birthdays."

"I see. I think this will be good for you then."

"What will?"

"The Thieves guild. You're now a member. Come on, Mercer will give you the introduction."

"Mercer? Who's Mercer?"

"The Guild Master. That guy," he pointed to the man ahead.

"Brynjolf, I hope your new protege will be better than the ones from before."

"Nothing to worry about Mercer. This girl is the best damn thief I've seen in awhile."

"Hmm. We will see. Listen up: In the Thieves Guild, you will follow orders. Do as you're told and you will come out rich. Anything less, and you're out. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," she said with a smile.

"Hmph. Good. Speak to Tonilia for your armor. Now, for a job. Brynjolf, give her the details for GoldenGlow Estate."

"Mercer, Goldenglow? Our little Vex couldn't even get in there."

"Yes well...If your friend is as good as you say she is, then there shouldn't be a problem. Now, go," Mercer walked back to his desk.

"Alright, lass. This job will test your skills. Read over this paper, all of the details are in there. Ask me if you have any questions," he handed over the paper. She scanned through it, a slow grin coming to her face.

"And lass?"

She looked up.

"Welcome to the Guild."


	2. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 - One year after the previous chapter.

"Tell me, Karliah, what happens after we put these get-ups on?" Brynjolf asked, removing his boots to put the Nightingale armor on.

"You will take the oath to Nocturnal, then we will..."

"Hold on, hold on, what oath? I didn't agree to an oath," Courtney cut in, standing to face her.

"The Oath of a Nightingale. You will pledge your soul to guard the Twilight Sepulcher, both in life, and death."

Courtney dropped the armor in her hand and removed the gloves of the Nightingale.

"I can't do that. I won't do that," she said.

"Courtney, don't get difficult now. This is the only way to defeat Mercer," Karliah said, picking the armor up and forcing it into Courtney's hands.

"Then you can do it without me. I'm not giving up my soul to a daedra," she said, dropping the armor again and walking down the steps.

"Nocturnal will frown upon this, Courtney. She will make your life full of misfortune," Karliah said, moving up in front of Courtney to block her exit.

"Don't care," she said, brushing past Karliah.

"Courtney! You need to think about this!" Brynjolf said, now taking his turn to block her exit.

"What's there to think about? I'm not pledging myself to a daedric prince. Honestly, I'm surprised that you are."

"I never said I was..." he turned to Karliah, who looked stunned, "Listen, Karliah, your sure there is no other way? Why do we need to become Nightingales to stop Mercer?"

"Because...because...I can't say. I cannot break my oath to Nocturnal. I can't say anything about it."

"Fine," Brynjolf turned to Courtney, "I see no way around this. Are you with me?"

She shook her head, "No. I'm not. There is absolutely no way. However..." she turned to Karliah, "Karliah, Since you're making a big deal about this I'm going to go out on a limb and say Mercer has something only Nightingales can speak about. I don't need to be a Nightingale to put a dagger in his throat, so you two go and take your oath, and I'll do what I can to assist. Sound good?"

Karliah turned to Brynjolf, who offered a nod.

"Yes. However, I ask that you wait outside this hall. If I had known you were not going to come out a Nightingale, I wouldn't have brought you in here in the first place."

"I see. Alright then."

XXX

"Feel any different, Brynjolf?" Courtney asked, they were walking back to Riften. Karliah had some unfinished business with Nocturnal.

"Not really, lass. A shame you couldn't join us."

"Sorry. I think I'll keep ownership of my soul for now."

"What's with you and daedra? I respect your opinion, but I'd like to know why."

"What happens if you pledge yourself to two? Do they fight for you? Are you lost in the planes of Oblivion?"

"Ah I see. You're already in bed with a daedric prince."

She laughed a bit, "No. My point is there is a huge unknown. It's worse than gambling with your life, you're gambling with what you do for eternity. Eternity is a long time."

"A fair point, I'll drop it. There are other matters to discuss."

"Like what?"

"We need a new guild master," he said with a smile, "Karliah and I talked about it when you left. Even though she's not exactly happy with you, we both agreed you'd be a good guild leader."

"What exactly would I have to do?" She asked, running the thought through her head.

"Honestly, not much. I'd be careful of who you piss off. Don't want them going after the guild. You'll be fine."

"Hm. Alright, sure."

"Good. Now, let's get some rest and meet with Karliah in the morning. We'll leave for Irkngthand in the morning."

XXX

"You've been a pain in the ass since I met you, Courtney. Now's the time I'm going to put an end to that," Mercer yelled, pulling his sword from his sheath.

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual, Mercer," she said, right before letting an arrow fly towards him. He managed to step out of the way, then moved in on her. She returned her bow to her back as she drew her dagger.

Mercer ran forward and swung at her, but she ducked and slashed at his shoulder. It made a deep cut in his armor, but didn't hurt him much. He turned to her and swung sideways with his sword, but she blocked it with her dagger, and threw a punch to his face. He staggered backwards and turned invisible before she could do anything else. She backed herself into a wall, preventing him from catching her from behind.

She looked up towards the statue, then down each set of stairs, searching for a slight glimmer. She saw nothing until he was right in front of her unleashing an onslaught of slashes and stabs with his sword and dagger. She raised her left arm and blocked the dagger with her gauntlet, and tried to block the sword with her dagger, but she missed it by an inch, and he stabbed into her chest.

She screamed and brought her hand to the wound, while Mercer escaped back into the shadows. She fell back into the wall she was in front of and slid down it. She removed her hand and casted a quick healing spell to seal the wound, then pulled out a health potion and drank it. She looked around to catch her bearings, but had trouble breathing. He must have hit her lung.

She stood up and looked around again for Mercer. He was coming at her from the left, but she was ready for it, and she faced towards him as he struck. He tried the same thing again, to slash with his dagger and stab with his sword, but she stepped to the right and smashed into his sword with her dagger, knocking it out of his hand.

He brought his dagger over and slashed at her neck, but she leaned away from it and grabbed onto his hand, holding it to her left side as she stabbed into his gut. She wrenched it around in his body and pulled it out, then sunk it in again even deeper, repeating the process. He dropped his dagger and yelled, then she ripped the blade from his stomach and pushed him to the ground.

He fell onto his back and tried to reach for his dagger, but she kicked it out of the way. She moved over to him and raised her boot and stomped down onto his throat, hard. She stared at him and he started having a coughing fit, his face turning a violent red.

"Goodbye, Mercer," she said with an exhausted grin. She twisted her boot and it snapped his neck.

She looked up to Brynjolf and Karliah, who just turned to her. She smiled but then started coughing, struggling to get air. She leaned onto the wall.

"Are you alright, lass? Did he get you anywhere?" Brynjolf yelled.

She looked up and pointed to the wound in her chest, but then the pipes above them broke.

"Oh great," she thought with a sigh, "I love swimming."

She grabbed Mercer's corpse and waited for the waited for the water to rise to the top.

XXX

"I can't believe we got out of there, lass...wait...where is Courtney?" Brynjolf said to Karliah as they got out of the cave.

The two Nightingales turned and ran back into the cave, then almost ran right into her. She was lugging Mercers corpse over her shoulder. She gave a weak smile and pushed past as she dropped the corpse and collapsed over it.

"Oh shit, Karliah, I think she's hurt bad," Brynjolf said, moving over to help her.

"She got stabbed, Brynjolf. Get some healing potions," Karliah said, searching Mercer's corpse for the Skeleton key.

"Courtney, talk to me, you alright? What did he hit?" Brynjolf asked, searching through his bag.

She coughed and then tried to sit up, "He hit my lung. Get me a magicka potion," she said. He did as asked. She drank it then it hit her, "Oh fuck...this is going to hurt," she sighed, as she pulled out her dagger.

Karliah came over and let out a huge sigh, "Yes. Yes it is."

Brynjolf gave a confused look, "Why? I'm not following."

"She sealed the wound, now she has to repierce it to heal it," Karliah said, kneeling down, readying some bandages.

"Oh, by the nine...Courtney can you do it?" Brynjolf asked, kneeling down to help Karliah.

She grabbed a stick from the ground and bit down on it. She nodded to Brynjolf and stood up. She plunged the blade the wound with both hands, screaming as the pain seared through her body. She removed one hand from the handle and it glowed a beautiful gold. She looked to Brynjolf and Karliah in agony and removed the blade from the wound, blood gushing out close behind. Karliah turned and covered her eyes as Courtney blocked the blood flow with her glowing hand, and let her magicka drain as her body repaired itself.

A painfully long five minutes passed before she could breath with ease again. Her magicka ran out as she partially sealed the wound, then had Brynjolf assist in wrapping it.

"You alright, lass? That looked horrible."

"No. But thanks for asking."


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 3 - Dovah

[AN: Let me know if you think this is something you would enjoy reading if it were to be continued. I'm feeling interested in continuing it as I reread it. Thanks.]

"Well, you've done it, lass. I've never seen the guild this busy in a long time. To be honest, I never thought I would see it again. You are our guild master, we are proud to have you," Brynjolf said with a grin. Everyone started clapping.

"Thank you, everyone, for this. Heres to a successful future," Courtney said, a big grin on her face.

Hours of celebrating and partying passed, eventually everything cooled down and people returned to their normal duties.

"So, lass, what happens to you now?"

"Don't know yet, Brynjolf. I've decided to stay here in Skyrim, but I doubt I'll ever live in one place for too long. For now, I'm going to work my way to Solitude, hitting every city I can."

He smiled at that, "Sounds like fun. What's first on your list?"

"Whiterun. Then I think I'll go to Falkreath."

"I see. Don't forget to come back here every once in awhile,"

"Of course. I'll be back in a few weeks."

"Alright, lass. I won't hold you up then. I'll see you around."

XXX

She left Riften and began the long trek to to Ivarstead. She stayed the night at the inn there, then continued her way to Whiterun. She was stopped by a guard as she was almost to the Whiterun stables.

"Get inside! Theres a dragon! Go, Citizen!" he yelled, pointing to the stable house.

"Where?" she asked, looking around.

"There!" he yelled, pointing to the house again.

"No, wheres the dragon?" she asked again.

"It was by the west guard tower when we saw it. It flew off around the mountain but it will be back.

"Great, thanks," she said, running west.

"No! Don't go that way!" he called out. She was long gone. She ran until there she saw another group of guards. A dark elf led the group.

"Who are you?" The elf asked.

"Courtney. And you?"

"Irileth, we're looking for the..."

"DRAGON!" the guards yelled. Courtney and Irileth turned to the beast who flew over them.

"Kill it!" Irileth yelled, charging towards the dragon, who was now readying to land. The guards fired volleys of arrows at it. Courtney reached for her bow and removed her ebony arrows from her bag. The dragon landed and faced towards the group of guards. They all fired arrows into the dragon, half of them bouncing off it's thick hide, the rest just barely piercing the skin.

"YOL TOOR SHUL," It roared, breathing a giant wave of fire over the ground, cooking the group of guards.

"Get reinforcements!" Someone yelled. Courtney pulled back her bow and shot an arrow towards the dragon. It shred through the thick hide and right into the dragon's neck. It roared in pain and turned to Courtney.

"Ah, drem yo lok, Dovahkiin. I have waited for your daal, your return, but I have also feared it, faas. For Alduin deems you Ni Bahlaan, not worthy, of the name of Dovah. Geinmaar, I disagree, I say you must be given a chance to prove your bahlaan, your worth, but it matters not. Per the will of Alduin, the world eater, you are my enemy, hokoron. Slay me or be crushed by my thu'um, dovahkiin!"

Courtney was too stunned to respond and the dragon took advantage of it, lashing out with it's teeth. Courtney rolled a bit to the right of the massive jaws, just out of their reach. She readied another arrow as the dragon moved it's large body to correctly face her, and let it go right as its large head was stationary. The arrow flew and ripped into the dragons eye. It roared with pain

"YOL TOOR SHUUUL"! It yelled. She knew she didn't have time to move, so in a panic, she brought up a ward and crouched down, waiting for the flames to hit her. And they did, hard.

Her ward did nothing, the sheer force of the flame made it crumble away. The massive wall of flame cascaded across her, leaving a burning trail right behind it. She screamed with pain as the fire scorched her body.

She immediately casted a restoration spell to begin healing herself. If she could heal it quickly it wouldn't scar. The dragon took to the sky as more guards ran from the city, barraging the beast with arrows.

She started with her face, rubbing the glowing magic over her skin. It went numb as soon as the magic made contact, then it turned into a calm cooling feeling. She treated all of the burn marks like this while the guards fought the dragon. She stopped and stood up, feeling drained. The dragon swooped overhead, grabbing a guard in it's massive jaws on the way.

Courtney pulled her bow from her back and pulled out her small collection of daedric arrows. She aimed at the dragon, waiting for it to land again. It flew away and turned around, then flew towards her, head on. It was going to grab her, like it did with the guard. She grinned as it got closer, and she gripped her bow even harder.

The dragon got close enough, and she let the arrow fly. It shot through the air, then went directly into the dragons head, right between the eyes. The dragon roared and continued barreling towards Courtney. She dropped her bow and pulled her dagger out, then ducked down a bit. The dragon soared overhead and she raised her dagger. It ripped through the dragon's belly, blood shooting out as it's organs followed. The dragon finished it's pass over her and smashed into the ground, blood and guts close behind. She walked over and looked to the beast.

"Kril...Brave tactic, Kriid. You have much...potential, Dovahkiin. Krilot Kendov. I wish you Krongah...against the world-eater, Dovahkiin," it boomed, clearly in agony.

"Wait! What does this mean? Who is Dovahkiin?"

"You, my fellow dovah. Seek the Kel'le, Joor're. You will find the answers." It lowered it's head, closing it's remaining eye. The dragon started dissolving, all of it's muscles and hide were gone. Only the skeleton remained, but the soul of the dragon circled Courtney, then was absorbed into her. Waves of euphoria rushed through her, healing the remaining scratches on her body, and fully rejuvenating her.

"By the gods...she's...dragonborn!"

"She has the blood of the Dragon!"

"Shout, Dovahkiin! Use your shout!"

XXX

"You have done me a great service, dragonborn. I bestow upon you the title of Thane in Whiterun. Speak to Proventus Avenicci for a key to your new house."

"Wait, hold on, you're giving me a house?" She asked, a surprised look on her face.

"Of course. Can't have my thane living on the streets now can I? Now, go speak to the greybeards. You heard them call you," the Jarl said, then turning to leave.

She nodded and then looked to a map. They greybeards could wait, there was no way in Oblivion she was hiking up that damn mountain. She could figure this out by herself.

"Greetings, my thane," someone interrupted from behind her.

"Who are you?" Courtney asked, turning to the voice.

"I am Lydia, you're appointed housecarl."

"My what?"

"You're housecarl. I was appointed by Jarl Balgruuf. I will guard you with my life."

"Why? You don't even know me."

"Because that's my job as your housecarl."

"You have a really shitty job," she said with a grin. Courtney motioned to the door and Lydia followed.

"It's the only job for me, my thane. Where is your next destination?"

"Winterhold. I have some things to do at the college."

"What sort of things might those be?" Lydia asked, walking through the big doors of Dragonsreach.

"I'm not too sure yet. Ever heard of the Kel'le?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't. What is it?" Lydia asked.

"That's what I'm hoping to find out. The dragon that attacked spoke to me before it's death. It called me Dovahkiin, then mentioned the Kel'le."

"Dovahkiin, dragonborn. So you can shout?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't even know what 'shouting' is. The dragon said the Kel'le would answer all my questions."

"I see. I hope you find what you seek, my thane."

"So do I. Now, I ask a favor of you," Courtney said, turning to Lydia.

"Anything."

"Seek out Proventus Avenicci. Get my house key from him and make yourself at home. All I ask is you keep the place locked up tight when you venture out."

"That's not much of a favor, my thane. Are you sure that is all?"

"Yes, that's all. Thank you."

"Of course."


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 4 - The Kel'le

"Vandalize any of these books and I'll break your fingers, human. Now, tell me, what do you want?" the orc grumbled.

"That's a warm welcome," she said with a smile.

"I'm not here for talk. Tell me what you're looking for or get out."

"The Kel'le. What is it?" she asked.

"The what?"

"Kel'le."

"I've never heard of a Kel'le. Where did you hear of it?" the orc asked, now intrigued.

She explained the story of the dragon attack, and the way it spoke to her.

"I see. That's quite the tale. Not sure if I believe you, but that's not important. Theres a book here somewhere on the dragon language. Written by a greybeard, though nobody's heard of this one. Must be dead," he said, searching a pile of dusty books.

"The tongue of the Dovah, by...Paarthurnax. No other name. Here you go, kid."

She nodded and sat down, opening the book. It was a translator book. She flipped to K. It read:

"Kel'le: Elder Scroll. An Elder Scroll is an object of infinite knowledge. Knowledge that make men and mer alike go mad when they read their secrets. Their origin's and quantity are unknown."

"Says here it's an Elder Scroll,' she said, giving the book back to the Orc. A saddened look came to his face.

"You might as well stop your search now, lady. Elder Scrolls are bad business. Nobody touches one and comes out the same."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. What is it?" She said, putting her hands on his desk.

"Hold on..." he reached under his desk and grabbed a book, "Here. Don't say I didn't warn you," he handed her the book, and she flipped it open. She read through the pages, but none of it made any sense.

"This book...it's..is it some sort of code? What am I missing?"

"That book is an example of what an Elder Scroll does to your mind. That's the work of Septimus Signus. He's the closest thing to an expert on Elder Scrolls, but he's mad. Or was. I imagine he's dead now."

She looked to the book, sifting through the pages, "What makes you say that?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the book.

"He used to live here, at the college. But then he left, he went up north. That was years ago. He said he found some sort of artifact. Nobody believed him, theres nothing but sheets of ice up there. And he was also insane."

"I suppose I'm going north, then."

"Hmph. Be careful up there. If you really are dragonborn, you should see to it that you don't die. The world needs you."

She nodded in thanks, then turned to the door.

"And come back here if you're not dead! Tell me what you find!" he yelled. She turned and waved.

XXX

She stood on a lone chunk of ice, trying to find some sort of outpost. Or even a camp, anything that wasn't ice. Looking to the north, she could barely make something out, but it appeared to be isolated. She would have to swim through the water to get there.

She looked down to her feet. If she swam through with the armored robes she had on, she would have nothing to change into. But if she swam through while stripped down, she could freeze to death.

"Fuck it," she said, pulling her top off. She pulled all of her clothing off and stuck it in her bag. She tossed it on her bare back and plunged into the freezing water. She swam as fast as she could, ignoring the bone-chilling water. Or at least, trying to ignore it. Her hands and feet were already numb from the walk here, and now she couldn't feel anything. It was all numb. She swam until she reached the small island.

XXX

She ran to the hatch in the ground, then fell to her knees. She slid her fingers under it and ripped it open. She looked down to the ladder, and tried to put her hands on it, but she missed it and fell into the hole. She tried to yell but she couldn't find her voice, then she smashed into the ice. She laid there, naked, freezing to death. She could feel herself slipping, about to lose consciousness, but she wouldn't let that happen. She reached out to her bag and dumped everything out of it. She grabbed her clothing and tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't let her. She scooted over to the wall and began to slide back into her clothing.

She managed to get it on, but everything was still numb. Courtney conjured two balls of fire, one in each hand, and held them close to her chest. She curled into a ball and sat there, slowly warming up. She sat there and waited. An hour passed until she felt somewhat warm again.

"Hello?" she called out.

"Anyone there?" She said again.

She stood up and picked up her belongings, returning them to her bag. She looked around the place she was in. The giant dwarven box caught her attention first. It looked old, really old. She ran her fingers across it, it was just as cold as the ice. She turned and looked behind her, it looked like someone was trying to make a house out of this chunk of ice. She looked to the bookcase, then the chest, then the bed...and there was a body. She walked over and looked at it. He was facing towards the wall and she rolled him over. She looked to his hand, he was holding some sort of object. It appeared to be...melted into his hand. She got a better look at it, it was a scroll. An Elder Scroll, at least, that's what she thought it was. It was glowing, and it was very shiny. That had to mean something. She set down his mutilated hand and opened the bag next to his bed.

There was a vial with some sort of potion. There was also a glowing cube. It felt...alive. As if there was some sort of power to the cube. It looked dwarven, just like the box behind her. She put them in her pocket and reached into the bag again, then pulled out a paper. It was covered in blood. The only word she could make out was daedra. Which meant she was probably going to regret coming here. She dropped the paper and turned back to the dwarven creation behind her. The scroll could wait, it certainly wasn't going anywhere. She pulled out the dwarven box from her pocket, inspecting it again.

There was a small hole in the top, it looked like it went deeper. She tried to peer inside, but it was too dark. She took the potion from her pocket and looked at it. She poured a bit of it into the box, looking for a reaction. Nothing. But the larger dwarven box in front of her appeared to glow. She poured a bit more in, seeing if anything would happen. It grew brighter. She slowly poured the rest of the mixture into the cube, seeing what would happen. The arms of the box started rotating, they slid back to show a sort of keyhole, presumably for the smaller cube. She inserted it and stood back. The arms shot back and the 'door' to the box moved back, farther and farther, creating a path for her to walk. She walked through, then entered a bigger cube, with a pedestal in the middle. It had a book on it. She grabbed it and put it in her bag, then turned to leave. She would read it back at the college. At least, that was her intention. She was stopped by a giant floating eye with tentacles around it.

"Greetings, my champion," it said, voice booming.

"Woah, hold on. We just met, daedra. I don't think I'm anyone's champion just yet," she said, leaning into the wall.

"Ah, but you see, you are my champion. You may not realize it, but it is your fate. Do not fight it."

She gave the eye a confused look, "I see. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Why do you come here, Hermaeus Mora?"

"I see you have done your research, mortal. Good. Cast your eyes upon the book you have acquired. My book."

She pulled the book from her bag, "This book?"

"Yes, good. Now, tell me, why have you come here?"

"I came here looking for the Elder Scroll."

"And why would you want such a thing?"

"Because a dragon called me Dragonborn, and it told me that an Elder Scroll would show me what being Dragonborn meant."

"Ah, but there is your problem. It told you to seek the elder scroll, did it not?"

"It did."

"It did not tell you to acquire a scroll. It pointed you in the direction of what you seek, but it did not tell you what you sought after."

She held up a knowing hand, to stop the daedra from speaking, "I see where you're going with this. I sought knowledge of who and what I am, and who else to give it to me other than the daedric prince of knowledge."

"Precisely."

"Tell me why I should accept your offer when I could go to the greybeards and not worry about losing my soul," she said, holding the book in her hands, being sure not to open it.

"Ah, yes. The knowledge that you seek will...open the doors to a bigger thirst of knowledge. Go to the greybeards, and they will give you the knowledge you seek, and nothing more. However, if you accept my offer, I will grant you the knowledge you seek, and more."

"I see. Would that new thirst for knowledge be bigger than it is now?"

"Very much so."

"Alright. Tell me what you want out of this deal."

"In return for the knowledge you seek and more...I simply ask for you to be my champion."

"Daedra use the term 'champion' very loosely. Tell me exactly what I would be doing."

"I have occasional tasks that need doing in your world. Some of my kind prefer to do it themselves, however I have no such luxury. I cannot say of the frequency of these tasks, nor the difficulty, however I can speak of the importance. You would not have to drop everything you're doing to accomplish these tasks. I would approach you at a time of convenience."

She stopped to think about it. It wasn't that bad of a deal, really. She got everything she came here for and more, and all she had to do was a few jobs for the daedra. Simple.

"So let me get this straight: You will grant me the knowledge that I seek, plus knowledge that I would seek afterwards. In return, I have to do occasional tasks for you in my world. Is that correct?"

"It is."

"So what happens if I die? What happens then? Must I serve you in the afterlife?"

"You do not have to serve me after you pass away. Your soul will go to wherever it would normally go. Keep in mind that I know your fate, and everyone's fate, and I approach you with that in mind."

"I see. I accept your offer, Hermaeus Mora."

"Very well. The knowledge you seek is contained within my Oghma Infinium, champion. Now, it would be best to not tell anyone of our exchange that went on here. I will be watching over you."


End file.
